Life of a Phoenix
by remorseofthedead
Summary: A collection of stories detailing the life of Marco the Phoenix...Non-Canon. Rated for things that might happen in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own One Piece.

This is going to be a collection of, mostly, one-shots detailing Marco's life. Though some of them may be two- or three- shot stories. They will all fit together, though they might not be in chronological order, I'll just be writing them as I think of them.

If you having any certain situation or event you would like me to include in this story, feel free to tell me.

* * *

Darkness…Pain. It is all I know…All I have ever known. I draw my knees up, burying my face in my folded arms, trying my best to keep the tears at bay. I couldn't, wouldn't, let him know how much I was hurting….how scared I was. I choke back a sob before curling up tighter, causing the chains to hit together creating a soft clanking.

Sending the guy flying with one final slash, I stand back and watch as my sons, what I have called my crew for the past couple of years, search the house, which was more like a mansion, for any sort of treasure we could find. We had landed on this island a couple of days ago. We hadn't planned on causing any trouble, we just needed a place to relax a little and restock. A few of my sons wandered off into the hills to explore the rest of the island, where they were attack. I had no choice but to seek revenge. So, me and a group of around fifteen went up the hill, where we found a mansion…that a guy attacked us from. Thankfully it was only one man and I took him out easily enough. He was pretty strong though, I will give him that.

I begin cleaning off my bisento, waiting for my sons to finish searching the mansion. I look up as one of my newest recruits run towards me. "Pops!" he exclaims, out of breath, obviously having run through a good deal of the mansion.

"What is it, son?" I ask in concern, what could get one of my men so worked up?

"In the basement…there…there's a boy….He….he is locked in a cage," he stutters out between breathes. I stare at him in shock for a few seconds before asking him to lead me to the boy. Entering the room, I am assaulted by the stench of filth, human waste and a faint scent of chemicals. Reaching my hand up to cover my mouth and nose, I make my way further into the dark room, the only light being a single torch that one of my men was holding. Making my way to where they were all crowded, I looked down noticing the small cage and the small blonde haired boy chained within.

"Can you open the locks?" I ask turning to look at the three men standing next to me. One of them nods, and makes his way in front of the cage, kneels down and gets to work. After about five minutes, he gets the lock open and the door swings open. I expected the boy to at least look up when the door opened but all he did was curl tighter around himself. I tell one of the other men to get the chains unhooked from the wall, before kneeling down and peering into the cage.

"Are you alright, son?" I asked in the most soothing voice I could muster, though I doubt it came out very comforting to the small boy within. He slowly raises his head, staring at me through half-lidded eyes. I smile slightly at him and slowly reach my hand out. He flinches violently, letting out a soft whimper while trying to scoot further back. I withdraw my hand just as slowly and stare at him in sadness…Who would do something like this to an innocent little boy?

"Come out, son. We're not going to hurt you. That man won't hurt you anymore either," I assure, backing up slightly so that he doesn't feel too trapped. It takes a few more minutes, but we were finally able to coax him out of his cage. He stays completely still and completely quiet as we work on getting the cuffs, sea stone I notice with shock, off of him. He rubs his wrists slightly, glancing at all of us nervously.

I softly ask him if he would like to leave with us, assuring him that we would make sure nothing hurt him in anyway. Once again, it takes awhile for him to agree. I remain kneeling on the floor as the boy slowly begins to stand. He remains standing for a couple of seconds, his legs shaking violently, before he collapses back on the floor, looking away in embarrassment.

I smile slightly and stand up, the boy watches me out of the corner of his eyes, and look of dejection flashing across his face as he watches me signal for my men to leave. When I turn to look at him fully again, he quickly looks back down, wringing his hands together. My smile widens slightly as I reach my hand down, offering to help him up. He looks at me in shock for a few seconds, before tentatively reaching out a shaking hand and grabbing onto a couple of fingers of my own. He unsteadily stands, his whole body trembling. I notice he wasn't going to be able to make it out on his own, so I gently pick him up, much to his shock and embarrassment, and begin making my way out of the mansion and back to the ship.

Getting back outside, I hear a small groan, looking down I notice the little boy squeezing his eyes shut in pain and trying to shield the sun light away by burying his face in my jacket. I stare down at him for a second, taking in all of the caked on filth and blood that did nothing to hide the multiple wounds and scars marring his body. I shake my head sadly, shifting him so that he could more comfortably shield his eyes and began slowly making my way to the shore, not wanting to cause anymore injury to the boy.

I take the boy to the infirmary, where the nurses and doctors start work immediately, thankfully not feeling the need to ask any questions first. I make my way back out on the deck and sit heavily in my chair. I feel that I did the right thing by bringing the boy here, but I have no idea what to do with him now. A pirate ship isn't really any place for a small child, but I can't just abandon him. Maybe one of the villagers would be willing to take him in, and if not, I guess we'll have another crew member for a little while at least.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own One Piece.

* * *

"We're setting sail," I inform the crew as I get back on board the Moby Dick. The crew looks at me for a second, before nodding their heads and preparing to set sail. I walk towards the infirmary to check up on the still nameless boy, who has been unconscious since yesterday when I brought him on board. Knocking on the door, I softly push it open and walk in.

"How is he?" I ask taking a seat next to his bed. Caceus turns to face me from his place at his desk. He sighs lightly, sadly looking at the boy.

"He seems to have been kept in that cage with very little food, so he hasn't developed correctly. There is no way to determine his age. He is also severely malnourished. He is covered in a multitude of bruises and cuts, most of which are infected. He also has several rather deep scars. I'll try my best to make them as unnoticeable as possible. But regardless, he will have scars for the rest of his life. I take it the search in town didn't go very well." I shake my head, glancing at the young boy, making sure he was still out, before making my way closer to the doctor.

"I found his parents, but they wanted nothing to do with him. The whole village claims that he is cursed. They all agreed, his parents included, that selling him to that man was the best choice of action. They were all terrified when they found out we saved him….they encouraged us to kill him." I reply looking over to the small boy sadly.

"Cursed?" the doctor asked, looking back up from his paperwork.

"Devil's Fruit, I would guess…his chains were made of sea stone." I reply, standing up and making my way back to the door.

"Ah…can you make sure the cooks have some light soup prepared for when he wakes up?" I nod my head, thanking the doctor and walk back out onto the deck. After informing one of the cooks of the doctors request, I headed back to the front of the ship to make sure we were on course.

It was a few days after we had set sail that the doctor informed me of the boy waking up. He had checked him over and told me with shock evident in his voice that all of the bruises, cuts and scars had disappeared. Though he was still malnourished and refused to talk. He then asked me if I would like to take the small bowl of soup to him and sit with him as he ate. I agreed immediately, hoping that I could ease the young boys worries and at least find out his name. Taking the bowl I make my way to the infirmary, noticing the boy sitting up in bed, but staring down at his hands which were clasped tightly together.

"Hello, son. I brought you some food," I say gently, taking a seat next to his bed and holding the bowl out to him. He stares at it for a few moments, shooting me quickly glances, but makes no move to take the bowl. I stare at him in confusion, before moving the bowl closer to him. "You need to eat, son. You must be hungry." I state. He stares at me in shock for a few seconds before hesitantly reaching a shaking hand out to grasp the bowl. Holding steadily to the bowl, I help him bring it to his mouth where he greedily begins to gulp it down. I had to make his slowly down a few times, not wanting him to choke or eat too much at once. But the bowl was empty in just a few minutes.

Setting the now empty bowl down, I turn back to face him and finding him staring at me, though he quickly turns away once I notice. "Can you tell me your name, son?' I ask softly. He squeezes his hands tighter and bites his lip, tensing slightly.

"Marco," he replies in whisper that I barely heard. I smile at him, ruffling his hair lightly without giving it much thought, until he flinched.

"Well, Marco, my name is Edward Newgate, most people call me Whitebeard…but everyone on the ship calls me Pops…You can as well," I inform him taking my hand back. He nods his head still not looking at me. "Now, you should get some more sleep, so that you can heal." He lays back down, pulling the covers up to his chin and stare off to the side.

I stand up and begin making my way to the door when I hear his soft voice, "…Sir?" I turn back to face him, "thank you for saving me," he whispers, holding tightly to the blanket and staring at me with half lidded eyes.

"No thanks needed Marco…and like I said, just call me Pops," I reply causing a small smile to form before he quickly turns away. Laughing slightly, I make my way back out onto the deck and take my usual seat.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own One Piece.

This is going to be a collection of, mostly, one-shots detailing Marco's life. Though some of them may be two- or three- shot stories. They will all fit together, though they might not be in chronological order, I'll just be writing them as I think of them.

If you having any certain situation or event you would like me to include in this story, feel free to tell me.

* * *

"Pops, we need to talk about Marco." Caceus says, coming to a stop next to my chair. I turn towards him sharply.

"Is something wrong with him?" I ask concerned. He shakes his head slightly before sitting down on the deck next to my chair.

"No, nothing like that. He is doing fine. He is actually well enough to no longer stay in the infirmary. But I don't really know what to do with him. It's not good for him to stay in the infirmary very long, plus we need the beds incase some of the crew gets injured or sick. He has really bad nightmares, which is understandable, but he is fearful if he sees anyone he doesn't trust. So, putting him in one of the bunk rooms is out, but I don't want to leave him alone." I nod my head, understanding what he was getting at.

"Let's just put a hammock in my room, we will get him a bed at the next island." I say, taking a drink from my sake. He nods his head, seeming happy that I agreed with him so quickly. After he starting making his way back to the infirmary, I tell one of my nearby sons to put up a low hanging hammock in my room.

"It's good to see you out of bed, Marco," I say, watching the small boy tentatively walk around the deck. He jumps slightly, spinning around to face me, his eyes wide. He seems to settle down once he sees me, his eyes going back to their usual half-lidded state and his body relaxing slightly.

"How are you feeling, son?" I ask after a few seconds of silence.

"Much better, sir," he answers quietly, fidgeting nervously and glance at me through his bangs. Smiling slightly, I hold out one of my arms.

"Come here, son," I beckon. He looks at me for a second, before slowly making his way over, as if unsure if he really should or not. Once he gets close enough, I gently pick him up and sit him on one of my large knees. "I bet you are glad to be out of that room. How are you liking the ship so far, Marco?"

"Yes, sir…I've only seen this part…it's…really big," he says looking around, causing a loud laugh to escape me. He looks down, blushing furiously.

"Well, we'll have to give you a tour later, huh?" I say, smiling down at him. He smiles back, nodding his head, before leaning slightly against me.

He stays there for a few more hours, not saying a word, just silently watching the crew walk around, doing their individual jobs, before dinner was ready. Picking him up, I walk below deck, pointing out each of the rooms that we pass and telling him what they are. He looks at everything with so much excitement and wonder, but still seems too reserved to say anything or ask any questions. Getting to the mess hall, I sit him in the seat next to my own, smiling at Jadon and Carnell as they set a plate in front of us both.

Marco stares at the plate in front of him, glancing at me for a second, before picking up and beginning to eat. He eats slowly, glancing around every couple of seconds, as if afraid that someone will take the food from him. After he is finished eating, I take him to the washroom, telling him to clean up while I go and try to find something for him to wear. I got a shirt from one of my shorter crew members, that would hopefully not be too long on him, to sleep in. One of my sons who had night watch volunteered to wash Marco's clothes tonight. I would be buying him some new clothes when we reached the next island in a few days.

Getting Marco out of the bath and dried off, I slipped the shirt on him, which thankfully stopped a little above his feet, and picked him back up, carrying him to my room. "This is where you will be staying for a while. We don't have any extra beds, so you will be sleeping on a hammock until we reach the next island. But that will only be a few days." I inform him, setting him down.

"It's fine, sir," he replies quietly, looking around. I smile slightly and tell him that he can look at anything he wants. After he nods his head, I tell him that I will be right back, and head out of the room to talk to the crew and prepare for bed myself. Coming back into the room, I find Marco sitting on the floor, staring around in wonder.

"Are you ready for bed, Marco?" I ask gently, smiling down at him. He looks up at me and nods his head, before standing up. I watch him closely as he climbs into the hammock and I cover him with a blanket before walking to my own bed and blowing out the candle. "Goodnight, Marco."

"Goodnight, sir," comes his quiet reply, before deep, even breathes float through the air. I smile slightly, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

An ear splitting screams wakes me hours later. I swiftly sit up in bed, ear alert to anymore abnormal sounds. I look around, but don't see anything out of the ordinary. Getting out of bed, I open my door and look out, seeing nothing there as well. Shrugging my shoulders, I figure it was just n my dream, and begin making my way back to bed, when a soft whimper reaches my ears. Looking around once more, my eyes land on Marco, who is curled tightly in a ball, covered in a cold sweat, tears pouring out of his eyes as he shivers violently.

I make my way quickly over to him, shaking his shoulders slightly. "It's alright, Marco. You're fine. No one here will hurt you, I promise." I whisper as quietly and comfortingly as I could. He shudders a few times before finally waking, looking around wildly. When his eyes land on me, they widen significantly, before pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms.

"Are you alright, son?" I ask, putting my hand in his head. He looks at me shyly.

"S…sorry, sir." he whispers terrified. "Sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about it, son. Are you alright?" I ask concerned.

"Fine, sir," he replies quickly, a tremor still evident in his voice. I stare at him for a few seconds, before picking him up and walking over to my bed. I lay down, lying him down next to me and covering him up.

"Goodnight, Marco," I say again, smiling slightly when he snuggles closer to my side.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own One Piece.

This is going to be a collection of, mostly, one-shots detailing Marco's life. Though some of them may be two- or three- shot stories. They will all fit together, though they might not be in chronological order, I'll just be writing them as I think of them.

If you having any certain situation or event you would like me to include in this story, feel free to tell me.

* * *

Things have been pretty peaceful the last few days. Marco has continued to sleep in my bed since he was released from the infirmary, he tried sleeping in his hammock a few more times, but always ends up having nightmares so I put him into my bed, much to his embarrassment, but it seems to make him happy as well. He spends most days sitting out on deck close to me, he never does anything other than sitting there. I occasionally tell him stories, but today I convinced him to explore the ship on his own. I had showed him all of the major rooms, but there are many places he hasn't seen. I'm not too worried about him, he seems to be a smart kid and my sons will make sure he doesn't fall overboard or anything.

This will also give him a chance to realize that none of the crew will harm him in anyway. He seems to trust me, and somewhat Caceus, well enough, but he still flinches back or tries to hide when any of the other members get too close or try to speak to him. But hopefully, being alone around them will make him realize that they don't want to hurt him and not that they just don't do it because I am around.

Letting out a deep sigh, I lean back in my chair and take a long drink from my ever present sake bottle. I enjoy the peaceful day, talking to any of my sons who stop near my chair and enjoying the various sounds on the ship. The sounds a several people loudly talking and laughing, the faint sound of someone hammering something below deck and the several creaks of the wood.

A loud crash suddenly permeates the air, I don't give it much thought, someone is always crashing into something and it usually isn't that seriously. I begin to rethink my decision not to investigate the source of the sound when a terrified Marco hesitantly makes his way towards me, followed closely by a concerned Jadon.

"What happened?" I ask as soon as the get close to me. I watch as Marco flinches violently, staring at his feet and wringing his hands together. I look up at Jadon waiting for an answer.

"Well, I was walking by one of the storage rooms when I heard a loud crash. I opened the door to find Marco, his arm and clothes smeared with blood, quickly trying to pick up the piece of what I assume was a broken vase." he explains quickly. I look sharply at Marco, who seems to be trying to curl into himself, just now noticing the blood on his arm and shirt.

"Why didn't you take him to the infirmary?" I demand.

"Well I was going to, but he seemed terrified, well even more terrified, at the thought. So, I checked him over but couldn't find any injuries. I thought it would be best if I brought him to you, Pops." he replies swiftly, looking more and more concerned for the small boy.

"Thank you, Jadon. You did the right thing." I tell him, smiling gently before turning back to the terrified boy next to him. I stare at him for a few seconds before making up my mind. I get from my chair and lead Marco into our quarters. I take a seat on the bed and watch as he stands by the door fidgeting slightly.

"Come seat down, Marco," I insist, pointing to the space next to me on the bed. He glances up quickly before tentatively walking over, gingerly taking a seat. I stare at him for a few seconds, noticing his tensed shoulders and tightly clasped hands. "Are you alright, Marco?" I ask quietly, hoping to dispel some of his anxiety.

"…Yes, sir," he answers softly, not looking up from his hands. "I'm….sorry, sir." He presses out sounding more distressed.

"What for?" I ask confused.

"For…for breaking your vase, sir." he replies, squeezing his eyes shut. I smile gently and pat his head softly.

"I don't care about the vase. What I do care about, is where all that blood came from."

"It…It's mine, sir," he replies solemnly, continuing to look at his clasped hands, his shoulders once again tensing slightly. I nod my head and wait for him to continue, my eyes roaming to try and find the wound.

"Will you show me the wound?" I ask when it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything more with prompting.

"I can't, sir. Sorry," he replies quietly. I stare him in confusion for a second, not really understand his meaning. "I…I don't have it anymore."

"What do you mean, son?" I ask softly.

"I…I healed it, sir," he mumbles, barely audible, curling slightly into himself.

"You healed yourself? Is that your Devil Fruit power?" I ask softly, causing his head to shoot up and stare at me in shock. Behind the shock, I see and underlying fear. "I have a Devil Fruit power as well," I inform him, causing his shoulders to relax slightly.

"That's not really my power," he answers, staring back down at his hands. "I can turn into a bird…I don't know what kind it is though…..It's made of blue flames." he tells me.

"That is called a phoenix, Marco. They are considered mythical creatures. You were very lucky to come across such a rare and helpful fruit." He looks up at me happily and slowly shifts towards me until he is resting against my side.

"What's your power?" he asks hesitantly.

"I can make tremor, like earth or seaquakes." I tell him, causing him to look up at me in wonder.

"That sounds really cool," he whispers, a small smile on his face.


End file.
